Riverside-Durham is 0-10 against Hillside since November of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Riverside-Durham Pirates will head out on the road to take on the Hillside Hornets at 6:30 p.m. Riverside-Durham has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Last Friday, Riverside-Durham earned a 41-34 win over Northern Durham.
Jasmine Chapman had an outrageously good game as she almost dropped a triple-double on 22 points, 12 rebounds, and nine steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Shameia Holder was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
In what's become a running theme this season, Hillside gave their fans yet another huge win on Friday. They claimed a resounding 54-26 win over Jordan at home. Given Hillside's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Jordan is ranked 207th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hillside's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Sa?nya Horton, who scored 13 points along with four steals, and Samiyah Barker, who scored 16 points along with eight assists and six rebounds. That's the first time this season that Barker posted eight or more assists. Another player making a difference was Kayden Sims, who scored eight points along with four steals.
Riverside-Durham's record now sits at 4-15. As for Hillside, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Riverside-Durham have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 73.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Hillside struggles in that department as they've made 38.4% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Riverside-Durham took a serious blow against Hillside when the teams last played on January 12th, falling 55-15. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Barker, who scored 16 points along with four steals. Now that Riverside-Durham knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
